


Loom

by Kitsune_Heart



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Blanket Permission, God Tier, Homestuck Shipping World Cup 2014, Light Romance, M/M, Podfic Welcome, Temporary Character Death, itty bitty wings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-21
Updated: 2017-02-21
Packaged: 2018-09-26 02:19:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,312
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9857660
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kitsune_Heart/pseuds/Kitsune_Heart
Summary: A little look at going god tier, and the potential powers of a Seer of Blood, from the 2014 Homestuck Shipping World Cup.One fine game day, Cronus sends Kankri a message. After a suitable lecture, Kankri finally lets Cronus get some words in edge-wise.CA: Ah. Right. Um….CA: Triggers, let’s see….CA: #TVW #I’m fuckin’ dying.





	

**\--CharmingAngler (CA) began trolling CeaselessGuidance (CG)--**

**CA: Hey. Kankri?**

**CA: Kankri, are you there?**

**CA: Please tell me you’re there, Kankri. I’vwe got a bit of a crisis going on here.**

**CA: Kankri?**

**CA: Kankrikankrikankrikankrikankrikankrikankrikankrikankrikankriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii**

**CA: Kanny.**

**CG: I have reminded y9u, many, many times, t9 n9t refer t9 me 6y such a diminutive, Cr9nus.**

**CA: So you are there!**

**CG: Yes, Cr9nus. I am, in fact, here, l9gged int9 9ur chat client, as my very clear “availa6le” status indicates. I was merely taking the time t9 f9rmulate a pr9per resp9nse. Which I have 6een una6le t9 d9, due t9 the urgency 9f y9ur messaging. I trust that y9u have c9ntacted me f9r a truly urgent reas9n, as y9u have implied via y9ur initial menti9n 9f “a 6it 9f a crisis?”**

**CG: May I inquire a69ut the nature 9f said crisis? And d9 please remem6er t9 6egin y9ur descripti9n with the pr9per trigger warnings. I w9uld hate f9r s9me future viewer 9f these l9gs t9 face mental anguish due t9 a hasty explanati9n.**

**CA: Ah. Right. Um….**

**CA: Triggers, let’s see….**

**CA: #TVW #I’m fuckin’ dying.**

**CG: …**

**CG: Cr9nus.**

**CG: Please refrain fr9m including crude language in y9ur trigger warnings, s9me may find it 9ffensive and distur6ing. And, yes, triggering.**

**CA: Ugh, I….**

**CA: Vwill you just get ovwer here and drag my corpse onto a quest bed?**

**CG: Cr9nus, isn't there s9me9ne a 6it cl9ser wh9m can help y9u? I w9uld have t9 travel acr9ss several 9f 9ur fell9w player’s lands in 9rder t9 reach y9ur 9wn, enc9untering wh9 kn9ws h9w many delays. And I am in the middle 9f a very pr9ductive discussi9n with the denizens 9f my land. It t99k simply ages t9 get them all in the same place and willing t9 listen t9 my serm9n.**

**CG: Lecture.**

**CG: Meenah is y9ur server player, c9rrect? I’m sure she w9uld arrive far swifter, due t9 her gift 9f flight.**

**CG: #TW #flight #wings #acr9ph96ia #pter9merhan9ph96ia #Meenah**

**CG: Shall I c9ntact her f9r y9u?**

**CG: Cr9nus?**

**CG: Cr9nus?**

**\--CharmingAngler (CA) has 6led 9ut!—**

**CG: ….**

**CG: #TW #Cursing**

**CG: Fuck.**

* * *

 

**> >Be the bard. Display your glory.**

You wake to his face hovering above yours, and it might just be worth the disembowelment, just for that.

“Vwell, hey there,” you croon, quirking your lips. “Vwhat is a nice guy like you doing in a dump like this?”

Kankri merely rolls his eyes, standing straight again, hands on his hips. “D9 n9t use the term ‘nice guy’ when descri6ing me, Cr9nus. The hist9rical 6aggage 9f that term is immense and alm9st universally 9ffensive.”

“Sure thing, babe,” you say, pushing yourself up so your sit with your legs dangling over the edge of the Hope-player quest bed Kankri has done you the immense favor of dragging you to. Or, perhaps more accurately, dragging your corpse to, as your spirit was a good few minutes out of the body by the time he’d have arrived.

A move he seems to have come to regret, based on the growl Kankri sends your way. “I am n9t s9me s9rt 9f wriggler, Cr9nus. I’ll ask y9u t9 remem6er that. I expect t9 6e addressed with my pr9per name. Anything less is an assault 9n my dignity, and highly tri—”

“Triggering, yeah,” you say, standing. “I know.”

“Interrupting 9thers is disrespectful and triggering, as well,” Kankri says, turning to face you. “It implies that y9ur w9rds are m9re imp9rtant than theirs, and we should strive to make all feel that their w9rds c9unt as much as 9ur 9wn. 9f c9urse, keeping in mind the fact that s9me, such as Kurl9z, are una6le t9 audi6ly express their 9p—”

Kankri pauses in the middle of his lecture to make that noise that unpupated wigglers make when you mess with them. That high-pitched “kiiiii” as he exhales sharply. He’s his own whistle, though that doesn’t stop him from reaching for the one about his neck with trembling hands. The little metal piece jumps between his fingers, and all Kankri can do is shuffle back from you as his face turns as red as the flushed quadrant.

“Kankri?” you ask, stepping towards him, a hand outstretched, your wings unfurling in preparation for flight. You’re not sure where the Crosshairs are, but whatever is making Kankri react this way, you are going to make it _stop._

“I…” Kankri says. His eyes flicker. Downwards. Then back up to your face. “I’ve g9tta g9,” he says, and you have never seen someone abscond so fast without being a Space player.

You stand atop the clifftops of your land, a light wind tickling your new godly wings, the angels screeching in the high distance. They seem content to ignore their player, now that they have taken you to death and beyond.

You sigh, shoving your hands into your pockets. Or trying to. Your fingers shoot past your waist, finding no convenient hole. Grumbling, you look down, hoping against hope that you have _not_ been cursed with pocket-less attire for all eternity.

You stare. At your crotch.

“Oh,” you say, realization dawning. “Vwhoops.”

* * *

**\--CeaselessGuidance (CG) began trolling CharmingAngler (CA)--**

**CA: Yo, Kankri, I’m sorry!**

**CA: I had no idea about the…**

**CA: Outfit.**

**CA: I had kinda just died, if you recall.**

**CA: And I hadn’t had the chance, to, you knovw, look in a mirror?**

**CA: I did not do that on purpose, you’vwe got to believwe me.**

**CA: And I’m talking to Porrim right novw.**

**CA: She’s sure she can handle it.**

**CA: A nevw outfit, I mean.**

**CA: Not my bulge.**

**CA: I mean.**

**CA: Maybe she could that, too.**

**CA: (Do you think she’d like the codpiece?)**

**CA: (Oh.)**

**CA: (Sent her a pic.)**

**CA: (She does not.)**

**CA: (Oh, hey, she’s putting my nevw duds at the top of her list! Nice!)**

**CA: (You vwon’t evwer havwe to see it again.)**

**CA: (And I svwear, my bulge is bigger than that, the codpiece is false)**

**CA: (I mean…)**

**CA: #TVW #my gigantic bulge**

**CA: Vwait.**

**CA: Fuck.**

**CA: I should not havwe said that.**

**CA: I’m sorry, Kankri.**

**CA: I’m just**

**CA: Kinda flustered?**

**CA: About you seeing that, and maybe thinking it vwas intentional?**

**CA: Cause it totally vwasn’t.**

**CA: I did not knovw that vwas going to happen.**

**CA: Kankri, you’vwe got to believwe me.**

**CA: Kankri, talk to me.**

**CA: Hell, yell at me!**

**CA: Kankri. Please.**

**CA: Kankri?**

**CG: Cr9nus**

**CA: Oh, man, phewv!**

**CA: I vwas vworried you’d ignore me forevwer, there, Kankri!**

**CA: Damn...you’vwe...got a lot to say this time, huh?**

**CA: Vwell…**

**CA: Lay it on me, Chief.**

**CG: Cr9nus**

**CA: Yeah?**

**CG: Herl**

**CG: Hwki**

**CG: Help**

**\--CeaselessGuidance (CG) has gone offline--**

* * *

**> >Be the Seer. Finally see.**

You have to wonder if this is what death is actually like. If it is, you do not recommend dying. Not at all. It’s quite disconcerting, and you’re fairly certain that Porrim is going to throw a fit when she sees what your denizens did to the sweater she made.

When you open your eyes and notice an unaccustomed chill on your arms, you quickly change your worry from “Porrim bemoaning a new addition to the darning pile” to “Porrim murdering me for the sudden cessation of existence of her most carefully knitted gift.”

“I’m screwed,” you mumble, rolling over and curling up like a wiggler.

“Kankri?” Someone says at your back. “Kankri? You back? You vwith me?”

You groan and cover your head. “I have d9ne a terri6le thing.”

“Oh, thank the Empress,” Cronus says, and he does sound genuinely relieved. You resent that. Him, relieved. When soon you shall face Porrim’s wrath. “Evweryone is on their vway, Kankri. Porrim’s just a land ovwer, she’ll be here soon. Sounds like she just ascended, too.”

“9h, w9nderful,” you mutter, “n9w she can punish me as a rain69w drinker AND a Space player.” You pause for a moment before muttering, “Trigger warning: terrifying w9men.”

Cronus snorts, and your hair is ruffled by a strong beat of his wings. “Yeah, no denying that. Come on, Chief. Sit up. Got to make sure you came out vwith all your pieces in the right place.”

Would Porrim treat you leniently if that were not the case? Would it be worth the pain to try out?

But, no. That is highly triggering, you can’t believe you even had such a thought. Thank goodness no one is capable of hearing your thoughts, or else you might need to provide emotional support at a time when, frankly, you could use some yourself.

“Kankri? Come on. Please? I just vwant to make sure you’re okay. Kankri? Kaaaaaankri. Kankri.”

A brief pause.

“Kanny.”

“D9 _n9t_ ,” you hiss, sitting up, turning to glare at Cronus, “call me _Kan—”_

You are, once more, left speechless at the sight of Cronus.

But it’s not the...attire, this time. Though the...thing does remain. It’s…

“Right. Sorry, Kankri,” Cronus says, smirking, wings fluttering. While the movements of his wings stir the myriad dust motes that seem the be vying to coalesce into sentience and become this land’s other denizens, they do nothing to move the glowing strings that tangle about Cronus’s body. Some are small. Dull. Almost invisible. But others are thicker than even Porrim’s fanciest yarn, and glowing, and you could almost imagine they hum with energy.

There are four colors. Black. Gray. Pink. And red.

Bright and rich, like the chord that reaches from Cronus’s chest into your own.

“Oh, shit,” Cronus says, sweeping his wings forward, tugging on the end of one in an attempt to bring it before his...well, his crotch. “Sorry! I forgot. Slipped my mind, vwhat vwith the death thing.”

“N9, it’s….” You are suddenly distracted by movement at your back. It’s startling, unnerving, even, and you crane your head around to look towards your spine.

You scowl. Of course. _Nothing_ else would make sense. Small, and almost glowing red, your wings look like they wouldn’t so much as disturb a piece of paper. But the power of them seems not to be in their structure, you find, as you flutter your sadly diminutive new appendages, rising from your Quest Bed.

You put the thought of your wings aside and look back, and now down, at Cronus, who now looks up at you with a wide, genuine smile.

“Hey,” he says. “They do vwork!”

You purse your lips. “Cr9nus,” you snap, placing your hands on your hips, “that is sh9ckingly al6eist! What w9uld y9u have d9ne if my wings did n9t ‘w9rk,’ as y9u s9 said? W9uld y9u have ap9l9gized f9r my 6eing differently a6led? What if I am perfectly c9ntent with n9t 6eing a6le t9 fly? What if we disc9ver that flight is, in fact, n9t a guarantee!? Then it w9uld be _y9u_ wh9 have displayed a n9n-typical a6ility, and I wh9 w9uld 6e s9-called ‘n9rmal!’”

Cronus blinks up at you for some time.

Small and tremulous, a single black thread begins to weave in the air between your chest and his.

You look at it, confused for a moment. Then your wings falter and you float to the ground, muttering, “6ut I...I d9 appreciate y9ur c9ncern.”

Cronus considers this for a moment. Then he gives you a smile. “No problem, Kanny.”

“D9n’t call—” you begin, but, as the black thread begins to glow, you sigh, waving a hand at Cronus. “9h...whatever. Y9u sh9uld g9...find s9mething t9 shield y9ur...access9ry, 6ef9re the 9thers arrive.”

“Ah,” Cronus says, looking down upon his crotch. “Good plan.” He casts his gaze about the barren landscape that is the Land of Dust and Silence. Finding nothing of immediate use, he huffs and turns his back on you, wandering off in search of an adequate shield.

You watch him go. And you particularly watch as the black thread between you goes dull and stretches thin and, finally, snaps.

You scowl. You had never realized, how such a little thing could spark such an...interest. It’s vexing. You will have to guard yourself in the future. And you especially vow to do so as your friends begin to arrive, and you see the sudden tangle of threads that weave between them all. The almost blinding red between Meulin and Kurloz. A pitch-black and yet still somehow shining chord from Damara to Rufioh. A veritable tapestry about Porrim.

A Seer, you had understood. You saw things. Understood things. Knew things no one else could know. But Blood. This is Blood. Your friends. Their relationships. How you all meet and mesh and tie each one to the other.

Meulin would kill for this sort of power.

You resolve to never tell her. _Ever._

You shudder at the very idea.

There is not much you can do with this power, you suppose. Not without becoming an absolute villain. The lives and relationships of your friends should be left to their own devices. So...you will only use this to help manage your own...unwanted entanglements. After all, it is your own life you would be affecting, and you have already done so once, with resounding success.

You do not know how to banish that thick red string between you and Ampora, but you suppose, given your new powers and nigh-unending life, that you will have plenty of time to work that out. You imagine it will take just small adjustments. Little touches, to make yourself as free as you truly wish to be.

You give your wings a little flutter and go to join your friends. You thank all the potential gods above that Porrim has done her duty and freed Cronus from the curse that is his offensive god-tier attire.

And then curse at the sudden blazing up of a pale pink string from your chest to hers.

This...could be more difficult than you’d anticipated.


End file.
